When Microsoft releases a major new version of a software product that is as big as SQL Server, it is an exciting time. They are on a schedule of one major release every four years and every release is increasingly more remarkable than the last.
Between us, the authors, we have covered a variety of development and administration roles spanning several decades. Over this time we have taken much delight in watching SQL Server grow stronger, gain more market share, take on new features, and even fix some critical issues too. We started working with SQL Server 6.5 way back in the 1990s and it has been a fascinating journey, arriving here in 2012 with new features that we could hardly have envisaged all those years ago.
Whether you are a database administrator or developer, business intelligence specialist, or .NET developer using SQL Server at the backend of your applications, there are lots of new features in this release to help you in your day-to-day work. There is a lot to discover in SQL Server 2012 and we have brought to you what we feel are the best and most useful of all the new features. Throughout this book there are hints and tips gained over our many years of experience, included to help you get the most out of SQL Server.
In this chapter, we will look at the new editions of SQL Server 2012. In addition to the usual suspects, we now have Cloud and Business Intelligence editions. We will also look at obtaining SQL Server and pre-installation advice as well as what a typical installation looks like. So without further ado, let's jump in.